The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Sierra Club Challenges President Bush's Recess Appointment of Pryor

Feature Story by Ritu Kelotra - 5/19/2004

The Sierra Club today filed a motion to challenge President Bush's recess appointment of William Pryor to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which includes Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

President Bush had made the announcement to place Pryor on the federal bench in February, drawing consternation from a wide range of civil rights and social justice groups who had opposed Pryor's confirmation when President Bush nominated him for the first time in 2002. Those opposed to the appointment cited Pryor's troubling record on the environment, women's rights, and civil rights. Senators who previously refused to confirm Pryor said his record disqualified him from the federal bench.

The Sierra Club, with Georgia Forest Watch, filed a motion to disqualify Judge Pryor from a case pending in the Eleventh Circuit, Sierra Club v. Leavitt. The motion urges the full Eleventh Circuit to declare Judge Pryor's appointment unconstitutional and remove him from cases.

"When President Bush couldn't get Senate approval for William Pryor, he made an end run around the Senate, trampling the Constitution," said Pat Gallagher, legal director of Sierra Club.

When appointing Judge Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit, President Bush used authority under the Recess Appointment Clause of the Constitution. According to the Sierra Club, the Clause specifically refers to "the Recess" of the Senate as a formal recess between sessions. Pryor's confirmation, however, took place during an "intra-session" recess -- the last day before Congress' ten-day President's Day adjournment.

"The framers of the U.S. Constitution defined recess appointments as long breaks between congressional sessions, not anytime the Senate adjourns," Gallagher said. "If President Bush had his way, presidents could appoint judges anytime Senators adjourn for the weekend."

If Judge Pryor's appointment is found constitutional, his term on the Eleventh Circuit could last for almost two years, without Senate confirmation.